


Be My Companion?

by swankyturnip76



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Shelter, Cute, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Heith - Freeform, Hunk is a ball of sunshine, Light Angst, Light Heith, Looking For A Pet, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 18:05:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9336533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swankyturnip76/pseuds/swankyturnip76
Summary: When Keith's therapist Coran tells him to get a therapy pet after he is dishonorably discharged from the Air Force, Keith has no idea what kind of pet he wants. Luckily, the cute worker at the local animal shelter is able to help find him a lifetime friend. Heith one-shot.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a cute one-shot I wrote for Heith. I hope you enjoy it and as always, thank you for your reviews and kudos!

Keith took a breath to steady himself. This wasn’t that big of a deal. He was just looking. There was no need to make a lifetime commitment.

Only there was.

His therapist had suggested he get a therapy pet after being dishonorably discharged from the Air Force. A fluffy companion would do him some good.

Keith sighed as his hands gripped the handle bars of his bike. He had parked the motorcycle around the back of Shiro’s Animal Rescue and Shelter almost ten minutes ago, but he still hadn’t racked up the courage to enter the establishment. His anxiety was telling him to turn around and leave before anyone spotted him, but Keith had to do this. Doctor Coran would never let him hear the end of it if he didn’t at least _try_.

Stealing himself another breath, Keith swung his leg over the side of his motorcycle and began making his way around to the front entrance of the building.

A soft jingle of a bell above the door alerted the staff inside of his presence. Keith looked around, half-expecting the shelter to be full to the brim of people wanting to buy pets in the middle of this Tuesday afternoon, but the only human in sight was behind the counter. Keith gulped as he took in the shaggy brown hair, the yellow shirt, the green jacket, the nametag that was pinned to the jacket with the name “Hunk” written in a paw print outline, and the _gorgeous_ brown eyes that met his.

“Hey there! Welcome to Shiro’s Animal Rescue and Shelter! What can I help you with?” The gorgeous ‘Hunk’ asked with genuine cheerfulness in his voice. It was none of the fake cheer Keith was used to hearing from so many other workers.

_Oh no, he’s cute._

Keith cleared his throat awkwardly as he made his way to the counter. Hunk was even better-looking up close. His smile was gentle and his biceps were about the size of Keith’s entire body.

Keith felt a blush rising over his face as he stammered, “Umm, I was looking for a…a pet.” He internally cursed at how lame he sounded. _Get it together, man_.

Hunk nodded and shifted his stance to cock his hip more comfortably. “What kind of pet are you looking for? We have everything here – dogs, cats, turtles, snakes, rabbits, mice, rats, lizards – whatever you want! Well, except a komodo dragon. Shiro keeps telling me we can’t get those in stock, no matter how badly I beg.”

Hunk’s smile was dazzling and Keith coughed awkwardly.

“Umm, nothing like that. I…well…”

_Get it TOGETHER!_

“I was wondering if you...I was told you have therapy pets here.”

Keith waited for Hunk’s face to look at him with sympathy or pity or any kind of judgmental bullshit, but he didn’t. Instead the boy brightened up even more than Keith had thought humanly possible as a big smile lit up his face.

“We sure do! The most common ones are cats and dogs. Do you have any specific needs?”

The question made Keith blink. He wasn’t sure. Coran had just told him to get a pet, not _how_ said pet was actually going to help him. Keith knew that there were some service dogs that looked for certain things like low blood sugar or a severe drop in emotion, but Keith didn’t know exactly what _his_ pet was supposed to do for _him_. He wasn’t diabetic and Coran hadn’t diagnosed him yet with anything other than PTSD and anxiety. Although he _had_ only been seeing the therapist since he returned home from the front lines.

“I don’t really know. I’ve never had a pet before.”

Hunk _hmm_ -ed in thought as he moved away from the counter to unlock the door behind him. “Well I’m sure we will be able to find you someone special. Wanna come take a look?”

Keith followed the cute worker through the door and into the main room. The room was fairly large and had several aisles to it. Keith had somewhat been expecting the place to be dark and dismal, but instead it was brightly colored with splotches of various paint colors on the walls. All of the cages that held the animals looked pretty cozy and were full of blankets or chew toys, depending on the animal inside. Beside the somewhat short aisles was a long play pen with several walls built into it to provide each puppy with his/her own play space. A tall boy with glasses stood over the puppies, occasionally playing with them and keeping an eye on them. His face was lit up like a Christmas tree out of merriment and he laughed every time one of them licked his hand.

“This is Matt, our resident puppy master and trainer.”

“Hey,” Matt greeted with a friendly smile. “I’d shake your hand but I’m kind of covered in puppy germs here.” He laughed as a puppy jumped up to try and leap into his arms. There were four different pups of various pedigrees all yapping and running about in the play pen. Keith spotted a Cocker Spaniel and a Jack Russell Terrier among them. The other two looked like mutt mixtures.

“These are the only puppies we have with us for now. On the one side, we’re happy that the others were able to find homes and that only these few are left, but if you’re a sucker for the cute and cuddly like me, then you want to be able to play with them and take care of them all day long!” Hunk emphasized his point by leaning down and giving one of the mutts, a mix between a Golden Retriever and a Husky, a good rub behind the ears. “Matt and his sibling Pidge are responsible for deciding which fluffy friends here will make good therapy pets and which ones don’t quite make the cut. But that’s okay though, because we love all of them here at Shiro’s!” The puppies barked in unison to affirm Hunk’s statement and Keith couldn’t help but smile a bit.

“I think these guys are a little too energetic for me,” he confessed. While the puppies _were_ cute, Keith was in need of something older and a bit calmer.

“Yeah, of course.” Hunk gave a wave to Matt and moved them past the play pen to the third aisle. There were about nine cages stacked in even rows along the shelves. “We have five dogs available right now, not counting the puppies. Two of them, Kimmy and Stuball, were strays that were picked up by animal control and brought here. Kimmy is three and Stuball is five. DaVinci was rescued from an abusive home and has become kind of our mascot. He’s an older fellow, about eleven in human years, but in need of a good home all the same. He’s also super good with small children if you happen to have any at home. Kronos is incredibly sassy but don’t let his cockiness fool you – he’s a total slut for playing outside and enjoys long runs. Great for an active household. He’s also the favorite of my best friend Lance. And finally, we have Dotty. She’s a sweet and gentle soul who loves to cuddle and acts more cat-like than dog. She’s only two. Kimmy, Stuball, and Dotty are our certified therapy dogs. Any questions so far?”

As Hunk had explained each of the dogs, he had motioned for Keith to follow him up and down the aisle, pointing out each dog in mention. They were all pretty adorable and had their faces pressed against the glass ready for some petting. Keith looked at all of them but there wasn’t much of a connection. He had never really been much of a dog person.

“I think maybe a cat might be more up my alley? I like the idea of not having to walk a pet every day…that doesn’t sound selfish, does it?”

“Not at all,” Hunk assured quickly. Keith could hear the genuine honesty in the guy’s voice. “We all have different schedules, and it’s better to recognize your abilities and time restraints now before you get a pet and can’t take care of it. Want to see our kitties then?”

Hunk barely waited for Keith to give a nod before he was moving to the next aisle. Here there were seven cages with a cat in each of them.

“Our feline companions, as well as all of our pets, are up to date with their vaccinations and are spayed/neutered. Surprisingly, all of our cats are house-trained and do not need much time in accommodating themselves to your home. Our four therapy cats are Sasha, Hildebrand, Lafayette, and Vibranium. You can blame Lance for some of the name choices.”

As Hunk went on about the ages and personalities of the cats, Keith moved down the aisle. There was one particular cage that caught his attention. Inside was a little bundle of fur curled up in a ball facing away from him. The orange fur had tufts of red in it. On the name tag attached to the cage door, Keith read, “RED. SEX: MALE. AGE: 4. VACCINATED: YES. NEUTERED: YES. IN NEED OF A HOME.”

“Ah, that’s Red,” Hunk explained, catching Keith looking through the cage. “He’s a temperamental one and can be pretty stubborn. He failed out of the therapy training three times and Pidge and Matt have both kind of given up on him. I think he’s got a heart of gold though. He only ever lets me and occasionally Shiro handle him. He _hates_ Lance with a passion…it’s kind of funny.”

“Why did he fail out?”

“He refused to listen to Pidge or Matt. Wouldn’t take kindly to orders, I guess.”

Keith couldn’t stop the genuine smile that spread across his face. “Can you take him out for me?”

“You sure you don’t want to see one of our actually certified kitties?”

“I’m positive.”

Hunk had a slight twinkle in his eye as he unlocked Red’s cage and gently coaxed the cat out from his huddle.

“C’mon, Red. There’s someone here who wants to meet you.”

Red seemed reluctant to leave his cage and hissed briefly at Hunk.

“Hey now, you quit that attitude right now. If you want those special treats you love after dinner, then you had better behave.”

Red seemed to glare at Hunk but stepped out of the cage and into Hunk’s awaiting arms regardless. Up close, Keith could make out the emerald eyes and the black spots on his paws.

“Red here is a mix of Domestic Shorthaired and something else we couldn’t identify. We found him in the garbage can outside of the shelter one day and took him in. Catching him was quite the hassle and it took us hours to finally nab him. He had some nasty wounds, probably inflicted by other strays, when we took him in. We nursed him back to health and while some of my co-workers, namely Lance, complain that he’s ungrateful, we love him all the same. He’s kind of difficult to warm up to at first, but once you’ve gotten his trust he’s a real snuggler. Right, Red?”

It was true. Red had snuggled comfortably into Hunk’s arms and was looking at Keith with blatant disinterest.

“A real fighter, huh?” Keith muttered as he leaned down a bit to look at Red.

“You should talk to him and get to know him. Let him know why you’re here. He’ll warm up to you.”

Keith looked up at Hunk in disbelief and the worker only let out a chuckle at his expression. “Oh come on, he won’t bite you! At least, he had better not or he won’t get _any_ treats today!”

Red meowed at Hunk in annoyance at that and Keith saw the fond smile that overtook Hunk’s face. He was a big softie with these little guys.

“I don’t really know how to hold a cat.”

“It’s a lot easier than it looks. Here, adjust your arms like this,” Hunk explained as he modeled how to hold Red.

Indecision racked through Keith’s body but he managed to get his arms in the proper formation to receive the cat. Giving another stern warning to Red, Hunk maneuvered the cat into Keith’s arms. As soon as Keith was holding the cat, the creature hissed sharply at him.

“Red,” Hunk warned. The cat flicked its tail impatiently at Hunk as it turned its gaze stubbornly away from the two of them.

Keith gave a sigh and looked down at the cat. “Look, this is probably a bad idea. I didn’t even really want to get a pet today but my therapist told me I should – he said that it would help with stuff, but I’m not even sure what _stuff_ having a pet is going to help with. I can barely take care of myself let alone another living being. This isn’t going to work.” He tried to hand Red back to Hunk but the boy held up his hands to stop him.

“You’re doing fine. Look, he’s stopped hissing. Keep talking.”

Keith gave Hunk a dubious expression but looked back down at Red. Indeed, the cat had seemed to settle down a bit although he was still on edge.

“I never had a cat before…or any pet for that matter. We moved around a lot so it wasn’t really practical for us to have a pet with us. Plus both of my parents were allergic. I really liked animals as a kid, though…I guess I still do.”

Red had flicked an ear toward him to show that he was listening, but the cat still stubbornly refused to look at him. Keith flashed an exasperated look at Hunk but saw only the boy’s reassuring smile.

“Patience,” Hunk mouthed at him.

Something about Hunk’s presence made Keith want to try even harden to win this cat over.

“Umm…I don’t really know what else to say. I was in the Air Force until I got kicked out a month ago for disobeying orders…I guess we have that in common, huh, Red?”

At that the cat turned its head slightly toward Keith. There was a bench for customers to sit and hold the object of their affections, so Keith took the opportunity to gently lower himself down and keep Red on his lap. The cat didn’t put up much of a struggle. When they were seated, Keith held out his hand palm-up for Red to smell.

“My C.O. said that I was temperamental and stubborn too. I was always arguing with him over dumb shit I thought was important. You probably thought you were in the right too when you fought against Pidge and Matt in training, huh?”

Red let out a short purr and the sound made Keith chuckle a little bit.

“Yeah, I bet. You’re not so bad, you know that?” Keith raised his hand and slowly moved to pet the top of Red’s head. The cat wasn’t having any of that and lashed out, biting Keith’s hand sharply. A little trickle of blood started making its way down Keith’s hand as he removed it from the cat’s mouth.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! Bad Red! How could you do that? I’ll get the medical kit –”

“It’s okay,” Keith assured quickly but Hunk was already gone and returning with a medical kit by the time he finished speaking.

“I am so sorry! I didn’t think he would lash out –”

“Hunk, it’s okay,” Keith smiled. He reached into the offered medical kit and took out a strip of bandage cloth by himself. Pressing it against his hand, he looked down at the smug-looking cat on his lap. “You certainly are a feisty one, aren’t you?”

At Keith’s words, Red shifted his weight on his paws. He seemed confused that Keith hadn’t thrown him off his lap or shoved him into Hunk’s arms to be put away. The cat almost seemed to be…waiting.

Keith kept the bandage pressed against his hand and moved it in front of Red to see.

“I should have asked your permission to pet you first. It was wrong of me to assume. May I?”

Red looked up at him and his eyes had narrowed into slits. Yet the cat let out a soft meow and Keith took that as his permission. Even slower this time, Keith raised the non-bloody hand and gently rested it on Red’s back. The cat didn’t move as Keith lightly dragged his hand over the cat’s body, giving him a slow stroke. When Red didn’t immediately attack him again, Keith repeated the action and even gave the cat a few scratches on the back of his neck.

After a few moments, Red sank down into Keith’s lap and started purring.

“I can’t believe you tamed the beast,” Hunk whispered in awe as he sat down beside Keith. “Nobody has ever warmed up to him that quickly.”

“It’s just about respect,” Keith explained. “He bit me because I was in the wrong. I had to apologize for him to trust me again.”

Hunk was silent as he simply stared at Keith petting the little furball.

“I’ve never heard anyone who didn’t work here say that before.”

Keith blushed a little bit, though he wasn’t sure why, and gave a half-shrug. “Red, would you like to come home with me?”

The cat lifted its head and looked into his eyes. Keith couldn’t help but bite his lip.

“I’ll probably mess up a lot in the beginning. I don’t know the first thing about taking care of you. But maybe we can try this whole living together thing together? Would you like that?”

Red gave a purr and rested his head back onto Keith’s thigh.

“You know, I could help you out. Get you started with the whole ‘having a cat’ thing,” Hunk offered immediately. “I could give you my number and if you ever have any questions, you could feel free to call or text me. And I’ll give you the shelter’s hours as well. We have plenty of supplies here that you can take home with you, if you want.”

The blush grew on Keith’s face. “That would be great, thanks.”

A blush formed on Hunk’s face and he shifted on the bench. “No problem. C’mon, I’ll get you two all situated.”

Keith looked down at Red and decided that maybe Coran was right. He did need to come here today.


End file.
